Network+ to CCNA in 22 days

I passed my CCNA just now with 835 points out of 1000... but a pass is a pass! The first question was a sim involving EIGRP and I totally brain-dumped forgot everything I'd learned over the last 22 days since taking Net+... 20 minutes and lots of "?" prompts later, I got it working, but my pucker level stayed high for the whole next hour. I finished with about 8 minutes to spare.The test is definitely difficult but not intentionally tricky. I noticed a few insignificant spelling errors in some of the sim instructions but the test overall was well constructed. I'm looking forward to continuing down the Cisco path with CCNA Security and possibly Voice, as well as some deeper security certs (CASP now, CISSP later), but I will wait on the professional level Cisco tests until I have some more job experience.Thanks to everyone here for answering my questions and posting their own experiences - it was a huge help!

You know that using braindumps is cheating right? So the people who **** didn't actually earn anything.
It's so easy to **** and get the certification. I'd rather fail many many times and not get the certification instead of cheating on it, which I did for the CCNA.

If you keep dumping your stuff, someone will find out that you don't know your stuff.

James, at first I was not sure whether to be insulted by your allegation or just disappointed in your reading comprehension. Then I realized that "brain ****" has multiple meanings, and I should have been more careful with how I phrased that sentence. To clarify: I totally forgot everything I'd learned over the last 22 days since taking Net+.

He completely blanked out on the 1st question and had to fiddle thru the sim by using the "?" and trying out different commands. Probably nerves, especially being his first Cisco exam. But after the original sim, he regained his confidence and smoothly went thru the rest of the exam.

OP - Congrats on the pass. 22 days is very impressive. Just try to make sure you actively work towards retaining all that material. You'd be surprised how quickly and easily you can forget all that you struggled to learn.
Also, feel free to edit the original post and correct the "brain-****" inclusion.

You might have a paper that says CCNA but it's just a piece of paper, an expensive one at that.

That's the damn truth. Thankfully much less expensive than my bachelor's, but hopefully much more useful than a degree in military history! If I could go back and do everything over again, I'd have gotten a degree in some IT discipline, but then I would have missed out on classes like Future War and Maneuver Warfare, which were actually a lot of fun. So maybe I wouldn't go back and do anything over again after all

What do you all think I should take next - continue with Cisco and CCNA Security, or go back to a more theoretical / management perspective and take CASP? I ordered books for both and if I can't decide, I'll just start on whichever book arrives first!

This thread amuses me, is getting certified a speed competition, the faster you can get it, the smarter you are. Knowing the material comes second place. Oh, i just replied again because i received some negative reputation from my previous comment lol. Own up who gave me the negative rep? lol

Networking, sometimes i love it, mostly i hate it.Its all about the $$$$

This thread amuses me, is getting certified a speed competition, the faster you can get it, the smarter you are. Knowing the material comes second place. Oh, i just replied again because i received some negative reputation from my previous comment lol. Own up who gave me the negative rep? lol

I didn't neg you the first time, but I just neg'd you for this ^...

Of course it is not a speed competition, but just because someone is excited to go through a cert and learn faster than you can apparently conceive, it doesn't mean that person is brain dumping or not retaining any information. Some people just have more time, less responsibilities, and/or are more motivated and excited than others.

I think it is healthy to be competitive with yourself and to push your limits to see how fast you can learn. However, I don't think it's a good idea to go for fast certs if you don't have the experience to come with it. Either way, I think this thread is going off topic. Congrats again aftereffector!

I'm going to have to vouch for aftereffector. I worked with him while I was stationed in korea, and he knows his stuff. Most people assume that because someone takes back to back certifications means that they don't retain anything. I took 5 certification exams in 1 month. Almost all of the topics were relevant to my job. Don't try to bash someone because they decide to get the certifications for the knowledge that they already have. Assumptions are exactly what they are.... assumtions, and they mean nothing at all. As far as giving negative rep, I feel that's a little childish. I know EdTheLad helps greatly when it comes to posting configuration issues. He replies to just about every Cisco configuration issue on this forum. And congratulations on the pass, sir.

On to the actual topic. I would go with CCNA: Security while it's fresh. I spent a few months studying for it. Too much time was spent studying for it, but I can say I clearly understand the topics on the syllabus. Just make sure that you know how to navigate CCP and how to configure using CCP.